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PINBOARD SUMMARY

I am investigating the use of human umbilical cord blood as a treatment for hypoxic ischemic neonatal brain injury. This type of brain injury can arise following an adverse event in utero, during birth or after birth that restricts the amount of oxygen and blood supplying the brain. This event can lead to debilitating conditions, such as Cerebral Palsy, which is a permanent movement disorder which is quite often associated with impairment of motor skills, cognition and speech, among other things
Umbilical cord blood is full of beneficial cells that could help reduce inflammation and repair vasculature in the brain following an adverse event at birth, such as a baby experiencing a lack of blood and oxygen due to compression of the umbilical cord. In my preclinical animal models of neonatal brain injury, I am delivering human umbilical cord blood and then assessing the behavioural and pathological outcomes of this treatment in the long term. Previous studies in this field have only looked at short term effects of this treatment, but my study is investigating the efficacy of umbilical cord blood treatment in the long term, which will allow us to see if the positive effect of these cells is maintained. Furthermore, I will also be investigating the long-term behavioural effects of this injury and cell treatment. This is crucial as motor and behavioural deficits that arise in children diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy generally present between the ages of 18-24 months, thus it is important to consider the long-term problems associated with this type of brain injury.
My hope is that my proposed stem cell treatment will improve the behavioural and pathological outcomes of my preclinical model of neonatal brain injury. From this, I am hoping that we can move into clinical trials, and in the long run, use umbilical cord blood stem cells to treat babies with debilitating conditions such as cerebral palsy. In turn, this would improve the day to day life of these babies and children and help reduce the burden on the families and society.